Introducing Horror to Beginners

I love watching horror movies, I have a lot of favorites and some that I won’t even consider watching due to the subject matter (We all have our preferences). If you’ve read one of my earlier posts about not knowing what to write about here then you’ll see that I do love horror and it has been suggested to me that I write something or review something. Instead here is something different, in about four steps.

Not too long ago I really wanted to introduce one of my best friends into the horror genre, it was something I love that I wanted to share with her. There was only one problem: she hates being scared. After talking about it for a while we came up with a trade; she’ll watch a few horror movies, if I watch a few romance movies (something I’m not too fond of, but I do have a few I like).

I already had a long list of movies for myself to reference when I wanted to watch one, maybe I’ll post it here one day, and I narrowed it down and even split a few so she could choose the ones she would watch over others. This is how I started the introduction.

First: A Silent Scare

Something old but recognizable, I started her off with The Phantom of the Opera from 1925.I explained that it was something that used to scare people, since people were, and are, still afraid of what is called The Other. She liked the story and of course commented on the fact that it is a silent movie.

This was a move I made because with a lot of horror today has a lot of jump scares and can easily deter newbies that don’t like to feel scared.

Second: Slow Builds and Screaming

Next we jumped into the 1950s and 60s, where there are some memorable screams. Going with four movies for this one, to get used to the shrill screaming, we picked:

The Fly

House on Haunted Hill

Psycho

The Birds

All different in their own way, but with some very high pitched screaming, she got used to the sudden sound and slightly more gorey pictures compared to the silent era.

Third: Stalkers and Slashers

Late seventies through the late eighties we went through the classic slashers, the main difference when viewing these with a beginner? Watch them in the daytime. While for many horror lovers darkness is essential, let the newbies watch in the light and if they ask you to watch with them: do it.* This time around:

Friday the 13th

Halloween

The Shining

A Nightmare on Elm Street

There were a few others that she watched but I can’t really remember which, but these were the main ones.

Last?: 90s and On

For this one I started with Scream, it’s a classic in my book. From there I let her pick from the list. She asked me about each one and (without spoiling anything) gave her a tiny overview and any warnings for gore or sex.

She went on to watch: Se7en, Event Horizon, and Ravenous. At least those were the ones I know she watched all the way through.

To this day she’s still not a huge fan of horror but now she has seen a few good ones and isn’t too scared to watch any as long as it’s during the day with someone she feels comfortable with. She still has a copy of my list and I highlighted ones she might want to look at later on if the mood should ever strike her.

In return I had to watch some romance/rom-coms…but that is another post. Maybe in February. What movies would you show someone being introduced into horror?

*Please note, DO NOT SCARE THEM.

Seriously, let the movie make their heart race, not you jumping at them. Plus it’s rude to the uninitiated.